Korea is Asian home for Damien Rice
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Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice will hold a concert at Grand Peace Hall of Kyung Hee University on Nov. 22. / Courtesy of Access Ent
By Kwon Ji-youn
Damien Rice calls Korea his “Asian home.”
The singer-songwriter’s gig at the Grand Peace Hall of Kyung Hee University on Nov. 22 will be his fourth in Seoul, having visited every year since 2012. He keeps returning because of the invitations, he told The Korea Times in a recent interview.
“Much like a friend who invites you to dinner, Korea has been very inviting and each time I go to Korea I enjoy it,” Rice said. “It’s starting to feel like a home in Asia. I have made some friends there and the different promoters I’ve worked with are all very friendly and so the experience is always interesting and enjoyable.”
This year, he has added a stop in Busan to enjoy a “new city” experience.
“But I try my best not to ever have expectations,” Rice said of his Busan concert. “I find it’s more interesting and rewarding to enter any new experience with an open mind. When I have expectations, I create the possibility for being disappointed, and so if I stay open with no expectations, I get pleasantly surprised, all the time, no matter what happens.”
Rice began his musical career as a member of rock group Juniper and went solo in 2002. His debut album, “O,” reached No. 8 on the UK album chart, won the Shortlist Music Prize and generated three top-30 singles in the UK. He released his second album in 2006.
However, his third studio album came after an eight-year hiatus, a period of “soul-searching.” Looking back on those eight years, Rice said the learning process kept life interesting and stimulating for him.
“It’s an ongoing exercise in breathing in and out and connecting more and more to the core essence that we are all one,” he said. “Every time we breathe in, we take in little particles of light, little particles from the universe, and breathing out we exchange and share parts of ourselves with the universe and out it goes into other people.
“(I have) no regrets. We cannot change what happened in the past. In a sense, it’s just imagination, a memory, a dream. I prefer to stay present and open with what’s happening now rather than concerning myself with imaginary ideas of how I might like to change my memories.”
Accordingly, his most recent album, “My Favorite Faded Fantasy,” is about letting his ideas and creativity flow.
“Producer Rick Ruben helped me to put away the sledge hammer that I had been using to smash up the unfinished songs,” Rice said. “I became so self-critical that nothing was getting finished and Rick helped me to stop judging the material and just let it flow.”
But he has no favorite tracks.
“I’m not sure any song is a treasure ― that’s up to each person to discover for themselves,” he said. “If someone relates to a song in a moment, then that is the song of that moment for them. Then they move on to the next moment. I think the true treasures are whatever we are experiencing in each new moment. One might think ‘breathing air is so normal, it’s not a treasure’ but I then suggest that you stick your head under the water for a few minutes without breathing and then you will quickly realize how much you treasure air and the breath.”
Rice does not make set lists, so his concerts in Seoul and Busan will be unpredictable and impulsive, much like his very first Seoul gig when he invited almost 70 fans onto the stage to join him for “Volcano,” off his first studio album.
“I find it more exciting to be in the moment in the concert, and be present with the audience, the room, my feelings and thoughts and just be spontaneous about whatever feels right in that moment,” he said. “So, it’s hard to predict exactly what will happen but I can say it will be very different from the last concerts because I have a new album with new songs and also I’m using new equipment on stage that I have never used before, so the sounds are different and a lot more dynamic than the last time.”